|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1086.22 |
USD/Ton |
1% |
8/30/2015 |
|
VSF |
2066.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
ASF |
2402.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Polyester POY |
1047.14 |
USD/Ton |
2% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2578.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
40D Spandex |
5626.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2590.51 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1203.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2813.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Nylon POY |
5774.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1312.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2375.61 |
USD/Ton |
-1% |
8/30/2015 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2688.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1734.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2781.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2547.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
1906.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2344.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2860.11 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.09 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.92 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.02 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/30/2015 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15629 USD dtd. 30/08/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Textile raw material polyester yarn imported from China has begun to worry Indian manufacturers as a devalued yuan sharpens the competitive advantage of the Chinese products. China on August 11 took monetary policy measures that resulted in its currency losing strength by about 2% and more in consecutive days, triggering a rout in the global stock markets and improving prospects of Chinese goods in the global market, including India. The Chinese polyester yarn, now increasingly made from recycling the ubiquitous poly-ethylene terephtha Rs 115 a kg of late (PET) bottles, costs the most-used 30s-count variety while the same manufactured at Indian factories and sold at the country's largest markets such as Ludhiana Punjab, and Malegaon in Maharashtra. The Indian market for polyester yarn hovers in the range of 1.8 billion kg, with a value of approximately Rs 2.16 lakh crore. India imports a portion of its requirement for the materi al from China, and South-Asian nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia With the currency devaluation, fears of dumping have now surfaced. "The Chinese devaluation has raised some fears, but what is more worrisome is that a large portion o their knitters and weavers have adopted recycling PET bottles. With more efficiency refinements, the quality of PET bottle yarn is slowly beginning to compare favourable with India's virgin yarn produce," says Pinkesh Jain, MD of Mumbai Everflow Petrofils, which imports 2,000 tonnes of polyester yarn every month.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The textile industry is having a tough time because of difficulties being faced in getting subsidy under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS). Some applications are lying pending for the past one and a half years. The Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) is an interest subsidy scheme aimed at upgrade of technology as part of measures to boost the textile and jute sectors. The textile industry has been facing issues such as non-allocation of subsidy to meet pending cases under TUFS, which include committed liability, left-out cases and blackout period. Some of the unit owner from the city applied for subsidy under TUFS within the specified time of one year from the date of sanction. However, owing to some delay, these could not be punched into the system for Unique Identity (UID) creation within the stipulated time period and are hence lying pending with the Office of Textile Commissioner, Amritsar. “The Ministry of Textiles has already delegated the authority to allow the application of these units on a case-to-case basis, but still these are pending even for more than one year,” said Vinod Thapar, chairman of the Knitwear Club. The owner of Tandon Knitwears said he had sent the claim well before the stipulated time but his claim was missing in the allotment of the UID. He said some of the member units had been allotted the UID numbers but the visit from the officials concerned is pending and recommendation is pre-requisite for disbursement of subsidy amount. Some cases are even more than nine months old. “I applied for subsidy and have also been allotted Reference Numbers in September 2014 but my case is still pending for the UID,” added Vinay Kansal, a knitwear manufacturer.
Another small scale knitwear manufacture, Sanjeev Handa, said he had plans to expand his unit and had applied for subsidy under the TUFS. “I had selected the machinery from a Japan-based manufacturer and all formalities have been completed. But I have still not received subsidy under the TUFS due to which all my plans have come to a standstill,” he said. “The main motive behind the TUFS was to let the industry upgrade itself with the technology but the sanctions are getting delayed and the real purpose of the scheme is lost,” added another textile milk owner, Nikhil Pandhi.
SOURCE: The Tribune India
A one-day district-level workshop on the new textile policy 2013-18, of the Karnataka State government was organised by the Department of Handloom and Textiles, the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development of Karnataka (CEDOK) and the Lions’ Club, at the Lions’ Club Seva Mandir on Saturday to make people aware of the benefits offered by the government . At the inauguration, the District In-charge Minister B Ramanath Rai said that public awareness is necessary to achieve advancement in the field of handloom and textile business.
The handloom and textile industry can be a good alternative to conventional industries in the region. In a few states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra, the textile industry has been developed even in rural areas. With the full support of the State government, there is great scope for development of the textile industry in Mangaluru, which has road connectivity as well as port, railway station and international airport facility.
Entrepreneur Govardhan Shetty stressed on research and development (R&D) in the field of handloom and textiles. He favoured on self-employment or entrepreneurship during an era where even engineers do not get jobs easily. The Department of Handloom and Textiles Assistant Director K M Bhavikatti said that the State government wanted to create five lakh jobs through its new policy spanning five years. The policy will attract around Rs 10,000 crore as investment to the State. In addition, the government will invest Rs 1,000 crore. The District Industries Centre Assistant Director Sathyanarayana Bhat explained the policy and its benefits.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibres
The country could miss the export target of $310 billion for the current fiscal with shipments contracting for the eighth consecutive month in July. Exporters have been hit by a slump in demand and the yuan devaluation, which makes Chinese products cheaper, will reduce the competitiveness of Indian goods in the global market. Traders said missing the export target seemed imminent unless the government came out with incentives to boost shipments.
During the first four months (April-July) of the current financial year, exports were down 15 per cent to $89.82 billion. Imports declined 12.01 per cent to $134.86 billion, while the trade deficit stood at $45 billion. "Export performance has been weak because of poor global demand. The devaluation of the yuan has added to our woes. We are requesting the Centre to step in and reverse the negative trend to achieve the target," said A. Sakthivel, former president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
Exports stood at $310 billion in the last fiscal against a target of $340 billion. For the current year, the government has set a target of $310 billion, given the tough global situation. Moreover, the fall in the rupee is not helping either. According to FIEO president S.C. Ralhan, "Such high volatility will not add to the competitiveness of exports as the volatile exchange rate cannot be factored into prices, though it may increase the hedging cost for exporters. Only a small number of exporters who have not hedged their risks and received their payments may get a windfall gain." "The crash of the rupee to almost a two-year low does not automatically result in a comparative advantage to exporters. It is not only the Indian currency but several other currencies in the emerging markets which have lost under the impact of the meltdown of global stocks. The emerging economies are the major competitors of Indian products in the global markets. With weakness in currencies across all the emerging markets, no unique advantage accrues to India," Anupam Shah, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India, said. "The government needs to immediately step in and chalk out a strategy for giving a competitive edge to Indian exporters," Shah added.
Analysts said China's move to devalue its currency would make its goods more competitive in the global markets, not only causing damage to India's exports but also pushing up imports, worsening an already-adverse trade balance with Beijing. India Ratings and Research, in a research note, said, "The devaluation of the yuan will help to increase the competitiveness of Chinese exports. A further decline in the currency may make it difficult for India to maintain its pace of monthly exports at $22 billion." Shipments were down 10.3 per cent in July to $23.13 billion. Major exporting sectors such as petroleum products, leather and leather goods, marine products and chemicals, reported negative growth.
SOURCE: The Telegraph India
With just over 100 days to go for the crucial ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Nairobi, the commerce department finds itself with a new set of negotiators to grapple with the complex talks. In addition, several tricky bilateral deals are in the pipeline with negotiations for the high stakes Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the free trade agreements with Australia and Canada entering critical phase. Around 60 days ago, Rita A Teaotia took over as the new commerce secretary, replacing Rajeev Kher whose nine-year stint in the trade department ended on his superannuation. On Friday, the government moved J S Deepak to the department of IT as the new secretary on promotion. Deepak dealt with multilateral talks and was a crucial link in India renegotiating the deal on farm subsidies in return for a WTO agreement on trade facilitation. He also led the dialogue on bilateral trade agreements and was a key trade strategist in the government.
Similarly, JS Dadoo, who was dealing with the proposed trade agreement with Australia has been replaced by Arvind Mehta, an old commerce department hand, who now has to deal with the pressure from Down Under to free trade in farm and dairy products. Among the senior members of the trade policy division that deals with WTO issues, Sudhanshu Pandey will be the sole survivor from the Bali ministerial meeting when the Indian team lands for talks in Nairobi in December.
Officials reckon the changes, which are routine, necessitate the need for a core team of negotiators to be in place so that India's trade interests are adequately pursued. While there is a lot of focus on a bloated bureaucracy, when it comes to crucial areas such as trade talks, the government has followed an HR policy that goes back to the days of GATT (WTO's predecessor), they said. Officials have often complained of not only the team being severely short-staffed but also inexperienced. "By the time you learn the ropes, it's time to move on to the next assignment," complained a former trade negotiator.
SOURCE: The Times of India
India should take steps to improve its "ecosystem" for businesses and take advantage of the slowdown in China to woo US companies who are ready to set up manufacturing facilities in the country, head of a prominent Indo-US trade body has said. "What we are hearing from our companies that India story is strong. The slowdown in China is making India story much much stronger," Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Business Council (USIBC) told PTI. He said the cost of doing business in China has gone up and is becoming more and more difficult. "This is where there is an opportunity for India," he said. "India is a fantastic story. We need to get our act together in India to be able to go after this investment, which is ready to come in," he said. "US companies are willing to move a lot of investment in India...either manufacturing or setting up other plants for local environment," Aghi said. "Now we just need to ensure that the reforms taking place at the ground level, we are able to move it forward. It is an opportunity for US companies to look at incremental investment in India because of slowdown in China," he said. When asked why US companies have not invested in a big way in India despite some of the major reforms undertaken by the government, Aghi said the "ecosystem" required is still not there. The FDI, he argued, has moved substantially in the IT, technology and e-commerce arena, he said. "Areas where large projects, where you have to have land approval, you have to deal with labour laws...that's where you see apprehension," Aghi said. "At the end of the day it is all about creating jobs in both countries," Aghi said, adding that the several issues of concern to the US industry remain unresolved including intellectual property rights (IPR) and retro taxes.
At the same time, he acknowledged that several issues of concern for India remain unresolved like the one related to totalisation that would allow citizens from the two countries to repatriate their social security savings when they return to their home country. He said the red tape of Indian bureaucracy is becoming greener now, but what the US businesses would like to see is things moving much faster on reforms front. "I would say the red tape seems to be loosening its colour. It (bureaucratic red tapism) is still there, but is moving in the right direction. I would say red seems to be becoming greener now," Aghi said. "From policy perspective, what we are seeing is a very strong support from the government and bureaucracy in trying to make sure that the rules being put is has a feedback from the industry also," he said.
One of the reasons why the US companies are reluctant to invest in defence sector despite increase of FDI to 49 per cent is because of issues related to management control and offset, he said. "We take a step forward and then put it around caveats and it makes one step backward again," he observed, adding that the Indian government has been appraised of these views of US industry. Aghi also batted for Indian companies in the US, which he said would help in achieving the goal of USD 500 billion bilateral trade by the Obama Administration.
India, on the other hand can look at how it can improve ease of doing business. "To build a hotel, you need 154 permits. How do you reduce that by 90 per cent? All our members are waiting to move forward with investment. If you go to our board level discussion, there is a very positive sentiment on India," he said, adding that the Indian government needs to manage perception also. "While the policy paralysis is no longer there, we have seen some movement where you do not have to do parliamentary legislative approval. What we are not seeing things moving is those reforms which have to go for a parliamentary approval. "That is a slow tedious process. I think the big ticket items have to go through the Parliament. That's where the sense of not frustration, but there is a sense of trepidation on part of US companies," Aghi said. "I think, we need to figure out how we increase trade between India and the US. That means ease of doing business between the two countries. How to bring more sense of transparency and predictability on the policy side?" he said as he emphasised the need to move forward bilateral investment treaty (BIT).
Aghi described 15 months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule as a government, which "seems to be listening" to the industry. Aghi said Modi and his Cabinet have taken key steps to streamline and reform the country's economy. Prominent among them he listed out are insurance bill, transparency on the allocation of spectrum and coal blocks. "The sentiment on India is still very positive. What we would like to see is things moving much faster - GST, labour and land reforms. I think, they also have to percolate down to the execution level," said Aghi, who took over the reins of the USIBC a year ago. Referring to the Indian government's inability to pass Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the monsoon session, he said that the opposition parties have a major role to play in this. "Opposition played a role, which was not good for the country. Yes you got to be opposition, but at some stage, you got to be mature about the whole environment," said Aghi.
When asked about Prime Modi's visit to the US next month, Aghi said, he has to reassure American industry that the India story is strong and there is momentum. "The Prime Minister has to give some kind of assurance and comfort level to the US industry that the parliamentary reform where it has slowed down would eventually move forward," he said. USIBC, which now represents a significant majority of the top Fortune 500 US companies having businesses in India, has planned a series of interactive meetings next month in Washington DC, on the eve of the first India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, and those between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American corporate leadership in New York and San Francisco during his upcoming visit to the US.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
For investors worried about the health of emerging economies, gross domestic product data for April-June should supply some cheer on Monday – India’s is expected to remain the fastest growing major economy for a second straight quarter. The median estimate from a Reuters poll of economists put GDP annual growth at 7.4 percent in the quarter, just below 7.5 percent in January-March. If the number is that high, it will be a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose image as the country’s economic saviour has taken a beating after his struggle to pass his legislative agenda. But doubts persist over new way of calculating GDP, introduced early this year, even though the method gained an endorsement from the World Bank’s chief economist. With the change method, India’s growth topped that of China in the first quarter this year. Still, India’s robust headline growth does not square with the not-so-rosy ground reality. “Growth momentum has improved in the last two years,” said Kaushik Das, an economist with Deutsche Bank. “But the pace of recovery has been frustratingly slow.” Monday’s data is expected to fuel hopes in New Delhi of taking the baton of global growth as China’s economic slowdown deepens.
NEW INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS
However, with an economy only one-fifth the size of China’s, India is in no position to support the global economy as its northern neighbour has. Blessed with a huge domestic market and a large cheap workforce, Asia’s third-largest economy has an opportunity to get more investment. Lured by its prospects, iPhone maker Foxconn this month announced a $5 billion investment in India. The announcement came days after Sony Corp. shipped its first made-in-India television sets, and General Motors unveiled a plan to spend $1 billion to expand its main plant. “It is India’s moment,” Junior Finance Minister Jayant Sinha said. But very few believe it can seize the moment without making land, labour, bank and tax reforms. Modi swept to power in last year’s general election on a promise of speedier growth creating millions of manufacturing jobs. But just 15 months after that electoral triumph, disenchantment has set in. Businesses are getting restless with slow progress in removing the hurdles that have stymied growth.
PARLIAMENTARY PARALYSIS
Political acrimony, meanwhile, has left parliament paralysed. The last session ended without passage of single reform legislation. Shilan Shah, India economist at Capital Economics, described the washout session as a “missed opportunity”. Yet India is on mend. Robust growth in indirect tax receipts points to a nascent revival in manufacturing sector. Foreign direct investments are up 30 percent from a year earlier. However, the improvement in the economy is in large measure due to a crash in global commodity prices, which has cooled inflation and helped narrow the fiscal and current account deficits. Sure, urban consumption demand is picking up, but rural consumers remain glum. With capacity utilisation rates showing no signs of improvement, firms are not in a hurry to invest in new plants and machinery. Festering problem of bad loans, meanwhile, has impeded credit flow and delayed full transmission of interest rate cuts. The Reserve Bank of India has cut the policy repo rate by 75 basis points since January, but banks, in response, have lowered lending rates by just 30 basis points. “Key structural reforms remain crucial for a sustained pickup in economic growth,” analysts at Yes Bank said in a note.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The recent imbroglio surrounding the meeting between India and Pakistan's national security advisers (NSAs) has also impacted the bilateral trade talks. Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's NSA, was coming here with a long-term plan and along with discussions on terrorism, their next agenda would have been how to revive the trade talks. They would have proposed a date when their commerce minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan, would have met commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman, to take forward the talks on liberalising trade, based on the road map planned in September 2012. The idea, it is indicated, was that the NSAs would be meeting on the wider agenda of strategic issues and terrorism, while trade and grant of trade parity status would have been touched upon between their foreign secretary, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, and his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, for the respective trade ministers to carry on later. However, India was not keen that Chaudhry accompany Aziz. This was communicated to Pakistan two days before the NSA talks were to happen. Eventually, the NSA discussion itself got cancelled.
Meanwhile, Sitharaman is learnt to have sent an invitation to all trade ministers of the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations, including Pakistan, for the Safta (South Asian Free Trade Area) Summit, likely on September 28-30 under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Pakistan has yet to respond to this. Apparently, the Indian government also plans to unilaterally bring 88 per cent of its product lines under a reduced tariff rate of five per cent exclusively for Pakistan by the end of this year.
Pakistan had committed to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN, the term for non-discriminatory trade access) to India by December 2012. To get domestic support for this, the Pak government changed the nomenclature to 'non-discriminatory market access' (NDMA), instead of MFN. However, it has yet to happen. India had granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996. Pakistan had been reluctant to reciprocate, as the trade balance is heavily tilted towards India. The issue was discussed officially during the visit of Pakistan commerce minister Khan to India in January 2014, when he met then commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma. Both sides had then decided to operate the Wagah-Attari land customs station on all seven days of the week. And, to relax the visa regime for business people and also explore alternate trade routes over land. A joint working group was also set up to explore possibilities of trade in electricity.
Pakistan was also supposed to expand the list of importable items from the current 137 to 500, through the Wagah-Attari border. All these decisions are still in limbo and might require fresh approvals from the Union Cabinet to go through if trade talks progress. The talks for normalising trade had begun in November 2011, with the plan to expand bilateral trade to $6 bn by 2015. It was no more than $2.35 bn in 2014-15, down 12.8 per cent from the $2.7 bn in 2013-2014.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The rupee is seen weakening this week due to dollar demand from importers, while government bond yields are expected to trade in a range. Experts believe the weakness in the rupee will continue but not as seen earlier this month, after China announced a devaluation of its currency. “For the rupee, the bias will be towards weakness and the broad range is seen between 65.75 and 66.50 a dollar this week,” said Sandeep Gonsalves, dealer, Mecklai & Mecklai.
On Friday, the rupee had ended at 66.16, compared to the previous close of 66.16. In the week, it had weakened by 33 paise, due to persistent dollar demand from importers. Meanwhile, 10-year benchmark government bond yields are seen trading in a range. “The recent global volatility and rupee volatility seems to have become stable. Yields should be in a range because the underlying sentiment is reasonably okay and investors’ appetite is strong. The broad range will be 7.75-7.85 per cent for the benchmark this week,” said Suyash Choudhary, head, fixed income, IDFC Mutual Fund. This yield ended at 7.78 per cent on Friday, compared with the previous close of 7.77 per cent. Friday’s government bond auction worth Rs 14,000 crore had sailed smoothly.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
On the day when India awaits release of its gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, Templeton Emerging Markets expects a rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be positive for the country's economy and stock market. Speaking to CNBC, Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group advises investors to pick Indian stocks that are reasonably priced and expects higher valuations from them with interest rates coming down. On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s performance, he says he is keen to see reforms being implemented immediately by him. If Modi achieves 20 percent of the promised reforms, it would be beneficial for the economy, he says. Meanwhile on, Fed’s uncertainty he says, the rate hike would primarily be focussed on inflation and does not expect inflation to come up to any significant degree in the US. However, he is hopeful that commodities will perform better going forward. “We are beginning to near the bottom for commodities” he says, adding “there is possibility of further downside for equity market.”
SOURCE: The Money Control
Snapdeal, India’s largest online megastore has teamed up with Government of Odisha’s Orissa State Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society Ltd. and Odisha State Handicraft Corporation Ltd. to promote traditional Odisha crafts. Boyanika is a brand of primary weaver’s cooperative societies of Odisha, Utkalika is a brand of Odisha State Cooperative Handicraft Corporation. Government’s Utkalika and Boyanika will be now selling authentic Odisha handicrafts and handlooms to customers on Snapdeal. This was informed by the Chithra Arumugam, Secretary of Handloom, Textiles and Handicraft Department and Senior Vice President of Snapdeal Vishal Chadha.
Chithra Arumugam, Commissioner, Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts Department, Odisha, said that they are excited to partner with Snapdeal to promote and sell unique -- handlooms and handicrafts traditions of Odisha. They are keen to leverage technology to reach buyers across the country. They hope that this initiative will create more livelihood opportunities for their artisans by increasing sales of their products. Boyanika offers an eclectic mix of -- handcrafted sarees of the Ikkat, Bomkai Silk, Berhampuri Silk, Sambalpuri and Tussar variety while Utkalika offers home décor and jewellery items showcasing native tribal crafts. Between the two brands, currently around 200 products are listed on Snapdeal.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibres
Bangladesh will remain the top garment sourcing destination for global retailers at least for the next five years, and buyers will continue increasing purchase from the country, McKinsey & Company said in a report. During the period, the country's garment exports will grow 7-9 percent year-on-year, while India and Vietnam will be its nearest competitors, according to the survey report. The survey was conducted among 40 chief purchasing officers (CPOs) of top 40 international garment retailers during January-February this year.
Some African countries are also coming up strongly in the global garment business, said McKinsey & Company, which is a global management consulting firm and serves leading businesses, governments, non-governmental organisations, and not-for-profits. The respondents in the survey "Sourcing in a volatile world: The East Africa opportunity" cumulatively purchased $70 billion worth of garment items worldwide in 2014. “For international CPOs, Bangladesh remains the top future sourcing destination, as 48 percent of respondents put it in the top-3 up-and-coming sourcing markets,” according to the report.
SOURCE: The Global Textiles
Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) president Engineer Rizwan Ashraf said on Sunday said the business community played a pivotal role in making the city a hub of textile industry. Addressing a seminar organized by Rastgar on Compressed Air for Economy and Efficiency, he said the business community, engineering and allied sectors had to work hard to develop a strong industrial base and due to their collaborated efforts the city was internationally known. He paid the best tributes to Imtiaz Rastgar of Rastgar Company and said he played a key role in introducing modern engineering technologies in local industry. Imtiaz Rastgar, in his address, said Faisalabad had been put on a way to progress and prosperity.
SOURCE: The Business Recorder
The business community of Pakistan and Tajikistan should forge their direct contacts in order to encourage and promote direct trade between the two countries, said Mr. Maruf Jon Abdurahmonov Consular economic section and head of the visa section of the Embassy of Tajikistan in Islamabad. Addressing the business community of Faisalabad in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today, he said that Tajikistan is also a Muslim country that embraced independence in 1991. Its 93% is hilly with population equal to Faisalabad. He termed Tajikistan as gateway to central Asian states for Pakistan and said that Afghans and Turk people are doing two-way trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan and hence they are the main beneficiary of this trade. He told that Pakistani Kinnow, garments, potato and Mango juice is very popular in Tajikistan. Similarly Tajikistan rich in gas and electricity is providing gas to Pakistan through CASA-1000 while in future we could also provide electricity to Paksitan. He stressed the need to develop direct contacts between the business communities of the 2 countries to fully capture the existing trade in addition to exploiting the available potentialities.
Mr. Maruf Jon Abdurahmonov told that during soviet era big textile unit was established in Tajikistan which was to cater to the big market of Soviet Union. This unit has now become redundant. However new and small units are being established to cater to the needs of its domestic market. He said that businessmen and industrialist of Faisalabad who have specialized in textile sector should come forward and establish their textile units in Tajikistan. He further told that there are five free trade zones in Tajikistan with lucrative incentives. He said that Pakistani investors could import textile machinery without any taxes or duties while government has also allowed them to recruit 40% Pakistani labor for their units in Tajikistan.
Continuing, Mr. Maruf said that up till 2007, the Pak-Tajik trade was restricted to only 100 Million Dollars which is now growing satisfactorily. However, there is still room to give a quantum jump to the bilateral trade between the two countries. He told that Tajikistan has adopted a liberal visa policy. Three multiple business visas will be issued on the recommendation of FCCI, he assured. Replying to a question, he said that there is a renowned medical university in Tajikistan and many Pakistanis are also enrolled in it however we have acute dearth of pharmaceutical industry. Earlier most of medicines were imported from India, however now 60 to 70 percent medicines are imported from Pakistan. He told that Tajikistan is holding various international exhibitions including, Interfood, Dushanbe International Health care exhibition, Info com expo and TajikBuild from October 14 to 16. These exhibitions would be followed by Made in Pakistan Exhibition in Dushanbe which is expected from 22 to 24 October. He said that Pakistani business community must avail from these opportunities to explore the trade potential of Tajikistan.
Replying to yet another question about banking sector he said that Pakistani businessmen are lucky as there is a well established branch of NBP in Tajikistan. Earlier, Engineer Rizwan Ashraf President FCCI in his welcome address said that out of total Pakistani exports of 25 billion dollars the share of textile is 13 billion dollars. And out of it 6 billion dollars are contributed from Faisalabad. He further told that Faisalabad is strategically located in the heart of Pakistan. You can have access to any part of Pakistan within 2 to 3 hours drive. Similarly, it is also very suitable to have access to the regional countries via well-knit and safe road network. He also assured to facilitate the business community intending to visit Tajikistan for business purposes.
SOURCE: The Pakistan Today
